Classical Church
The Classical Church was the state religion of the Old Kingdom. It is based on the worship of a unitary God through irregular prayer and was structured through a strict hierarchy of churchmen and clergy. Key Tenets The most important tenet of the Classical Church it that there is a single, all-powerful God which created the world and everything in it, and now rules over it with an omnibenevolent hand. It is believed that one should attend a church function at least once a week, if possible, although prayer times are irregular. Even so, group prayer is held daily at specific times, and attending on specific religious holidays such as the summer solstice and harvest festivals is practically mandatory. Prayer usually takes the form of short, individual thanksgiving messages and requests, although longer group prayers can be quite elaborate. The relaxed prayer structure is a stark contrast to the strict prayer requirements of Teslim. Church Hierarchy Unlike the prayer requirements, the church structure of the Classical Church is very strictly ordained, although through tradition rather than actual religious teaching. The hierarchy of various churchmen and clergy all collect small tithes from attending common men, which are supposedly voluntary but instead practically mandatory - one could be shunned from the church by being miserly. All churchmen pay some of their income to the Bishop for their region, the proportion of which varied with the times. The Bishop usually preached and held prayer from their own church complex in the region's major settlement. Likewise, the Bishops would pay a proportion of their total income to their provincial Archbishop, who usually preached from cathedrals in major cities. They too would have the responsibility to pay a portion of their income to the Archbishop Ascendant, the chief Archbishop who formerly preached from the Grand Cathedral in Tives. Archbishop Ascendant The Archbishop Ascendant is the formal head of the Classical Church. Although currently situated in Vackholm, Skadgard, his actual church is the Grand Cathedral of Tives. As the head of the religion, he can make pronouncements and edicts that affect the entire church - and the entire congregation. Although his de facto political power has diminished significantly since the late medieval times, his de jure power is still extremely great. His theoretical powers include excommunication from the Classical Church and the call to arms against infidel or heretic enemies in holy war. Church Teachings and Philosophy The church's influence on culture was weakened by the diverse holdings of the Old Kingdom - having so many cultures following it limited its ability to affect them all the same. However, some cultural philosophies were spread throughout all of the lands of the Old Kingdom and enforced by the Church; *The unquestionable supremacy of the monarch (now largely forgotten or ignored) *The Church should be exempt from rule by any government *The Church should have the power to influence national policy *The role of women, eg outside of the workplace, war and politics *Heretics should not receive citizenship rights in nations which follow the Classical Church *Infidels should not receive citizenship rights in nations which follow the Classical Church Category:CS2 Category:Religions